BETTING DECISION DESCRIBED AS "RETROGRADE”

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 March 1949, Page 4

BETTING DECISION DESCRIBED AS "RETROGRADE”

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 9. “It appears that the country has responded admirably to the appeal to vote, but in voting the way it has on the gaming issue it has taken a retro-" grade step, which we fear will lead to more gambling,” said the Rev. J. S. Somerville, Wellington, speaking for the . Associated Churches this evening. “A lot of people voted the way they did because they were sick of the bookmaker and because of the promise of the Racing and Trotting Conferences in their propaganda that bookmaking would be eliminated. As the scheme appears to be carried we expect. the authorities to deal with bookmaking and to stamp it out ruthlessly. For example, they should implement the Royal Commission’s recommendation to the effect that the lav/ be given opportunity, under certain circumstances, to presume that telephones are being used for bookmaking. “We can assure the authorities we would be behind them if, as we think they should, they used every means in. their power to eliminate the bookmaker. There is no unholy alliance as ffias been suggested between the Associated Churches and the bookmakers “In any case we will be watchful of the scheme proposed. The people voted for it because they thought it sounded a good thing. The job of the country now will be to make sure it is as good as possible. “We consider that this vote constitutes a challenge to the moral, social, and economic standards of the country and also a call to the churches to examine their own work and effectiveness.

“The Associated Churches were mainly concerned with the gaming issue, but the result of the licensing poll looks pretty satisfactory from our point of view.”